Clams are photographed in the Erie Times-News studio on July 31. ANDY COLWELL/ERIE TIMES-NEWS

Now, I know people don't buy fresh clams because they don't know what to do with them. I get that, because that group used to include me.

It seems like a hassle to figure out how to treat them and prepare them, without even knowing if you'll like them in the first place. Who has that kind of cash/time?

Well, I spent the cash/time, and I can report that clams are worth every cent/minute. They're ridiculously easy, inexpensive and have a delicate flavor gently enhanced in a steam bath of white wine and a smidgen of butter. They're positively addictive, and I was sad when they were gone.

Five things I learned:

1. Clams are part of a group of sea creatures named "mollusks," which also include oysters, scallops and mussels, among others.

The most common clams are called "littlenecks." They're about 2 to 3 inches wide with hard shells. They're sold alive, but don't worry, they don't move, bite or do anything else. They have to be sold alive because they're highly perishable. You need to use them soon after purchase.

2. You'll almost surely lose a few clams both before and after cooking. In my bag of 50, purchased the day I cooked them, three were slightly open. I waited two days to use the uncooked leftovers and lost about a quarter more.

The most important things to remember:

- Only cook clams that are tightly closed. If they are ajar, they could be spoiled. You will be tempted to cook them anyway. Resist. By the way, the open ones will not affect the other fresh clams.

- After cooking, clams should be open wide. Any that didn't open could be spoiled. Throw them out, too. Again, this will not affect the safety of the others.

3. Most recipes that call for littleneck clams will say they need to be "scrubbed." That sounds like a lot more work than it actually is. It isn't a food safety thing, and it's not difficult. It's just to get rid of any sand or grit on the shells.

Mine were pretty clean. I just took a vegetable scrub brush and gave each one a quick once-over. That took about two minutes.

4. You'll notice that most of what I've said doesn't count in how long it takes to cook the clams. This is because there's next to nothing to know about cooking them. Steaming will take about 10 minutes, tops. You can do it in a pan on the stove with a lid. I did it in foil pouches on the grill. You can even do it in three to five minutes in the microwave by placing them all on the outside edge of a microwave-safe dish, leaving the center open, covered tightly.

Bam. You're done.

5. The Epicurious.com recipe for this said it serves four to six people. That must be as an appetizer to some kind of huge dinner. There is no way six clams each are going to get it done in my house. The things are the size of the tip of my thumb, for goodness' sake.

Besides, littleneck clams are sold in bags of 50. Just make them all. They'll get eaten. It'll take three of these foil pouches, and a pouch of 18 only has 228 calories. (A lot of people serve them with melted butter. Of course that's delicious, but I don't think they need it.)

Clams are inexpensive, too, as far as seafood goes. That bag of 50 is $14.99. Split in three pouches that's only $5 apiece.

John and I each had a pouch of 18 and I used the rest to make Linguine with Clam Sauce. (I wrote about that in my blog, at www.goerie.com/blogs/loaves).